Kids on Track, a group of volunteers based in Andover have just been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Kids on Track run non-residential camps during school holidays for children from disadvantaged areas in Andover. They also have a mentoring and outreach programme to help support these children in addition to the activity camps.
Kids on Track is one of 244 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways in which fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They include volunteer groups from across the UK, including: a rural support group for farmers in Shropshire; a community magazine addressing isolation in the Western Isles; a running club engaging all ages in County Tyrone; a film academy and community hub based in South Wales, and a food bank in Greater London feeding
vulnerable individuals and providing training opportunities.
Representatives of Kids on Track will receive the award crystal and certificate from Nigel Atkinson, Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire later this summer. In addition, two volunteers from Kids on Track will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2023 (depending on
restrictions at the time), along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Founder Kiki Godson says: “We are thrilled and so honoured to receive the QAVS, the most enormous thank you to every single one of our volunteers who make Kids on Track possible. Our volunteer’s energy and time has enabled us to support 85 children in and around Andover, providing activities, educational experiences and mentoring. Thank you so very much”.
